Monster Hunter  Lightning Chronicles
by megasean3000
Summary: Takuya, a fresh young Hunter for his local guild, thinks life as a Monster Hunter is perfect. Not until he is assigned to the beast of thunder itself.
1. Daily Life

**Daily Life**

_The Hunter slays __The Monster _

_The Monster slays the Hunter_

_But if the one were to become the other _

_Will one be killing the Hunter or the Monster?_

The great forest stood in all it's infinite beauty one day, the tall trees stood with it's majestic beauty, the bushes, plants and flowers grew to their own beauty to rival, and the animals that grew to live with the forest, attacks all others to sustain it's natural dominance. It was this time that a band of four Monster Hunters were making their way across the forest floor, in search of their quest. Soon enough they came to a halt and took cover in the bushes. One hunters, made their way across the forest for the sake of a quest. A strapping young man, possibly 19, took a peek through the bush, keeping his Long Sword on stand-by just in case, and seen a pair of Hypnocotrice feasting on an animal's dead carcass.

"That's them alright." He said quietly. "Chikko, what's the situation?" Soon, the female of the group, a small-sized girl around the male's age with her blonde hair up in a knot, while bearing revealing armour and carried a Bow and Arrow, took the man's place, and using a set of binoculars analyzed the situation.

"The Hypnocotrice are eating the bodies of a Bullfango herd, Takuya..." Chikko reported. The man named Takuya peered beside her.

"What of their captives? The two children?" He asked again.

"Most likely dead." The biggest of the group growled, trying to be silent. The man was a heavily built, tanned man with a large battle-hammer to show off his strength.

"Wrong, Hyobe, they're alive." Chikko said. Peering through the binoculars, she seen two children, a boy and a girl, sleeping a few yards away. "They're sleeping thanks to the Hypnocotrice's juices. My guess, once they're done with the herd, they're next." The youngest of the group came forward, a boy, equally-sized to Chikko, wore a set of spectacles and wore light armour to keep his speed up, seeing as his body wasn't used to giant armour, and his weapon of choice: a Shield and Sword, to add to his light speedy fighting style.

"We need to secure the captives before we engage." He identified. "Doing so will risk their lives."

"Keep your voice down, Tenji." Takuya whispered. "You have a point, but it'll be all for nought if you give us away..."

"Securing captives plan: underway!" Spoke Chikko, taking three smoke bombs from her bag and throwing them to the two beasts as it exploded on impact. The two were greatly blinded and alarmed as they were going in a frenzy, giving Chikko the chance to enter the fog and carry the children out.

"Aweright! Let's kick ass!" Hyobe battle-cried, charging into the now clear battlefield with his hammer at the ready. With an almighty swing, he bashed one of the Hypnocotrice's torso area with a large whack. This caused it to growl in pain, and cause the other to kick the large hunter away. Takuya and Tenji took to the field to back Hyobe up.

"Try not to lose a life already, Hyobe." Takuya said with a smirk. Hyobe didnt reply, as he was gurgling down a few Potions. The two Hypnocotrice's charged with their powerful kicks, but both were thrown back by arrow shots. The three hunters looked in joy that Chikko had returned.

"Don't start the party without me!" She cried in annoyance, then began firing her arrows for the two beasts. One however deviated from the other and spat a ball of sleeping juice for Chikko. Quickly, she dodged with a somersault, just when the juices were about to make contact. "Too close!" But her joy was short-lived, as the second Hypnocotrice fired another sleeping shot for Chikko, which made full contact, as she avoided the first one. Unable to resist the effects of the shot, Chikko staggered and fell to the ground, sleeping like a baby.

"Chikko!" Takuya called. But it was futile, she gave gentle snore after snore in relaxation. "Tenji, go wake her up, me and Hyobe will cover you!"

"No problem!" Tenji replied and ran to the sleeping beauty and gave her an almighty kick. "Wake up, Chikko!" Instantly, she woke up.

"Owww!" She cried. "What was that for, you little twerp!" Her question was answered as Hyobe was kicked by one of the Hypnocotrices so hard, he collided with Tenji, knocking both out.

"This is bad!" Takuya growled, having suffered one of the Hypnocotrice's peck attacks. "Give them some potions, Chikko!" Suddenly, he surprised Chikko: his armour glowed as it suddenly vanished, but in doing so, his armour was compensated for a second longsword.

"Takuya, your armour! If you take a hit from one of them-"

"That won't happen!" Takuya ran to the two beasts; on first sight, recklessly. But before the two birds could deliver their final blow, Takuya jumped up and gave both with each sword an almighty slash. Upon landing, both beasts were smote.

"Th-That was Takuya's famous Dual Longsword attack!" Chikko gasped in wonder. "Not many low-ranking beasts can survive after a blow like that!" The armour Takuya had on before reappeared as the second Longsword vanished with a glow.

"Can't believe I had to resort to that!" Takuya sighed. But before they could call it quits, one of the Hypnocotrices still drew breathe and was ready to attack Takuya.

"Watch out!" Chikko screamed. But before the blow was struck, the giant beast was blown away by a strong blow from a hammer, as Hyobe stood impressed with his work.

"Not gonna hog all the glory again, eh, Takuya?" He said with a grin that spanned across his face. Takuya smiled also.

"You have my thanks, Hyobe."

_I am Takuya Hokoraka. A monster hunter for my village's monster hunting guild. Some say I'm descendant to the first monster hunters of the land, but I seriously doubt that. I was orphaned at my village when I was a baby and have no recollection of my family, so what chance is there in knowing my ancient family? Besides, I have an even better family to support me: members of my own guild._

As Takuya sat down at one of the tables, his three companions from the quest joined him.

"Alright, drinks 'r' on me." Hyobe growled in a friendly tone.

"You finished the quest." Takuya persuaded.

"Go ter hell, man!" Hyobe replied. "Weren't fer you doin' yer fancy swish swash on 'em, I'd be deed. Now, I'm buyin' drinks. No buts!"

_The tall giant is Hyobe Kinniku. He uses brute strength on his quests to beat any monster that comes...even a Kelbi, if it looks at him funny. Me and him used to be enemies, competing against who can kill their monster first. But after I saved his life against a Rathian, we've buried the hatchet ever since. Believe it or not, he has a wife and son that love him; but I learned not ask what she sees in him._

"Hyobe's cheerful." Chikko giggled.

"He would be, he likes a good beer after a job." Takuya replied.

"Oh, I nearly forgot." Chikko perked. "The family of the two children send their thanks for saving them, and they are eternally grateful."

_This is Chikko Rihatsu. She's the guild's tomboy wizz-kid. She has a thing for weapons and armour; if there's a certain combination to a certain armour skill, she'll tell away...for a small fee. Interestingly enough, it was her father, the local blacksmith, that taught me everything there is to know about hunting. Chikko's been a sister to me since. It was only recently that she took up the mantle of monster hunter, though, so she's still fresh._

"What's wrong, Tenji?" Asked Takuya. "Been a little quiet since you woke up."

"Ummm...I want to apologize for my not doing anything, Takuya!" Tenji said.

"Don't worry. You were lucky you never got hit by the Hypno' itself, and only hit by Hyobe. Though, I don't know which is worse." He gave a small laugh, so did Chikko.

"I promise I'll be more useful next time!" Tenji said filled with resolve.

"Don't rush things. Just keep to practicing and tending to that nasty injury and when we get another big job, we'll go for it." Takuya said.

_The little guy is Tenji Ichidou. He's the guild's newest recruit. His mother and father, proud monster hunters, were killed by a rampaging Ratholos, and ever since then his only wish it to become what his mother and father once were. Although he lacks the body strength needed to kill a Bullfango, he's certainly got quite the charisma. I decided to take him under my wing during quests and show him the ropes, and to make sure he doesn't do anything reckless against the Rath that killed his parents. Although he's quite jumpy on the battlefield, outside, he's as soft as butter. And this is only speculation, but I think the kid has the hots for Chikko._

"Ummm...I hope you weren't hurt on the quest, Chikko." Tenji said, quite embarrassingly. "I know I kicked you quite bad when the Hypno' put you to sleep...I guess it was the spur of the moment that made me kick you so hard..." Then Chikko put her arm around Tenji, so his face was right next to hers.

"Nah, don't sweat it! I'm just glad it was neither Takuya or Hyobe that done it, or I'd be back at base camp." Chikko laughed, while Tenji was feeling faint from being so close to her. At that, Hyobe came back, with a tray filled with assorted drinks; beer pints for him and Takuya, the guild's special energy drink for Tenji, and a concoction brewed from random ingredients that Hyobe was hoping Chikko could guess from and tell if it's good or not.

"Alright, drink up!" Hyobe called, and all them grabbed their drinks, banged them together in respect and took either a tiny sip or huge glugs.

"Well?" Asked Takuya to Chikko. "How is it?"

"Hmm..." Pondered Chikko. "Royale Cheese...mixed with...Cannon Lettuce...With a slight hint of...of...there's Dragon Head in my glass, isn't there, Hyobe?" With those words, the giant hammer-user burst out laughing.

"Spot on, lassie, spot on!" He roared in fits of laughter.

"That's not nice, Hyobe." Tenji perked up. But it mattered not to Chikko, as she still drank the contents of her cup, and when she finished, she grabbed Hyobe's pint and glugged that down too. Hyobe's laughter stopped.

"Here, now!" He yelled in both anger and hysterity, wrestling the pint away from Chikko, while Takuya laughed at the whole thing.

"Oh, you guys are mad." He said through his laughter, wiping a tear away. The laughing stopped however, as Chikko looked up over Hyobe to see a mysterious member of the guild walk past.

"Hey guys, look." She whispered in a hushed voice. "It's him." She pointed to a very tall black-cloaked and hooded man with a large staff at his back. "He's back from a quest..."

"He gives me the chills..." Tenji shivvered.

"Wonder what he looks like behind that hood." Takuya pondered.

"Nobody knows, lad." Hyobe growled quietly. "Hear he's got a' kinds o' scars under there that'd put the local fishermen tae shame."

"Y'know." Called a mysterious voice behind Hyobe. All of them gave a jump on their seats and turned to see the mysterious man right behind Hyobe. "I don't like rumours." He then walked off as the one the four were looking at before disappeared like an illusion.

_This man is codenamed Agran. Nobody knows anything about him, except he goes on every quest by himself, and never shows during times when the village is under attack from giant monsters. The only thing we do know of him is his abilities as a Monster Hunter, that is not only rare in this village, but in the entire world: he uses magic to defeat his assigned targets. How I wish I'd be assigned a target with him._

Agran took a slip from the request board and presented it to the scared reception lady, along with a bag of money for charges.

"Umm...Triple Tigrex, again, Mr. Agran?" She stuttered.

"Yes. Is there a problem?" He asked almost like he wants her to be.

"Umm...no, no! Good luck on your quest!" She squeaked. And then, Agran walked to the door leading to the boats that led to the target area.

"Don't let him scare you, Eiko." Called Takuya. "You look prettier unafraid." The receptionist, called Eiko gave a light-hearted smile to this.

"Takuya's got a girlfriend!" His three companions sang in unison.

"Shut up!" Barked Takuya.

Once all the merry conversation and laughing were out of the way, the four companions waved goodbye to one another and headed their own separate way across the village.

_Well, there's just one more part that I love about being a Monster Hunter; while Tenji currently lives at the guild's inn, Chikko lives with his dad and Hyobe has a wife and son to return to, I get a nice cosy room all to myself. _

Takuya returned to his house just up a small hill, unlocked the door, took off all his armour and jumped to his bed to call it quits for the day. He looked around the room/house he occupied: a small chest to keep his items and weapons stored, a small chest of drawers to store his files on monster information and a small pig, dressed in watermelon costume, that brushed it's head on Takuya's hand, wanting a petting.

"Hey there, Oinksalot." Takuya smiled as he petted the lovable pig, then picked it up as he and the small pet drifted off to sleep.

_This would be the last time anything would be normal..._


	2. The Legendary Kirin

**The Legendary Kirin**

It had to be the stormiest day anyone in the village could ever recall. Wind slashed through homes, rain flooded parts of the village, and in some parts, lightning ravaged through the streets. Takuya had to fight just to leave his house.

"Damn it! How can the weather be this bad?" Takuya yelled. It took a while, but he eventually made it to the guild hall. Everyone was so tense, afraid the roof of the guild hall may collapse on them. To boot, neither Hyobe, Chikko or Tenji were present. Takuya, curious to their whereabouts, approached the young receptionist Eiko.

"Hey, where're my pals?" He asked.

"They got called to an emergency quest to brace a neighbouring village of this storm." She spoke with a little unease. "As did many of our other guild hunters."

"Damn it!" He growled. "This storm...it ain't natural..."

"Yes...Some among the guild suspect a wild monster is to blame." She replied.

"A Lao can do less damage to the village than this." He laughed. Just then, both Takuya and Eiko heard a wooden thud on the floor behind the receptionist. Both looked in the direction of the noise to see an old man with a wooden stump for a leg, a rugged beard, a wise looking face with multiple scars and dressed in a set of armour made of what looked to be a Rajang hide. It would have been fair to assume this man had his fair share of battles.

"Master!" Both said in high esteem.

_'You guessed it. This man here is our guild master: Master Kyoryo'oni. He is the guild's most inspirational figure. The moment he seen my potential, he signed me up to the guild. His size makes him a worthy opponent to any monster he fights, even with his bad leg. It's my honour to be serving under him...'_

"Takuya, my boy..." He said with a voice of wisdom.

"Yessir?" Takuya said, standing up straight in respect. The Master limped to Takuya and laid his arm around his shoulder.

"Come, let's have a seat..." He grunted. Takuya supported him and brought him to a small table with the others, Takuya sat beside him.

"What is it, Master?" Asked Takuya. "I doubt you came out of your busy schedule to have a few pints with me?"

"Sharp as a knife as always." Growled the master. "You are a remarkable young man, Takuya...Which is why I wish for you to take on this quest..." He handed Takuya a quest slip. The young hunter read it:

_'My best trackers have located a lone Kirin to be the source of this confounded storm. To cause a grade 5 storm means that it's power may be double, may be even triple of that of any other Kirin. I implore you to slay this beast with all haste._

_Signed Anonymous _

_Reward: 80,000 Z'_

One thing Takuya had to note was the requestor wasn't willing to be revealed.

"Feel up for it?" Asked the rugged master.

"I don't know...If it's this big, wouldn't someone like Agran be the one for the job?"

"You know as well as I do that Agran only takes jobs he wants. You are the only one I can truly rely on..." Takuya looked to the slip, then to the Master, then to the door, which he hoped his friends would be arriving from...Then...

"Okay!" He said. "I'll do it!"

"Excellent!" The Master roared in joy. "I knew I could count on you! Now you'd better prepare; That Kirin ain't gonna take itself down." He got up and limped back behind the quest counter. Eiko looked to Takuya, who was looking rather nervous.

"Kirin quest, Takuya?" She asked.

"Looks like it." Takuya replied, handing over the request slip to her.

"Having doubts?" Eiko asked.

"A little..." He replied back. "If Master's counting on me, I can't exactly say no."

"It ain't that hard really." She laughed. "You just look him straight in the eye and say no, very quickly mind you."

"Either way, better get going." Takuya said, ready to heave him and his armour to fight the legendary beast.

"Wait!" Called Eiko, as she hopped past her desk. "I'll feel better if you hold on to this." Then she gave Takuya a small vial with red liquid. "This should restore you to full health in a pinch." Takuya looked to the young receptionist who had a shy smile to her.

"Thanks, I know it'll come in handy." And with one last glance, Takuya set off to the blustery docks to see all but one of the boats nearly torn to shreds from the rampaging winds. Quickly Takuya boarded and set sail across the stormy seas to the high mountains.

Around 30 minutes after Takuya's departure did Hyobe, Chikko, Tenji and a large group of other hunters arrive back at the guild hall, drenched from the rain. Takuya's friend's first order of business was approaching Eiko.

"Has Takuya been here yet?" Asked Chikko.

"Yes, he left on a Special Quest to slay the Kirin causing this dreadful weather." Eiko replied.

"He what?" Hyobe exclaimed in shock.

"It was a one-man quest." Replied Eiko. "And Master had the confidence Takuya could do it."

"That's madness!" Tenji shouted. "Takuya taught me it always takes two to defeat a Kirin! How does he expect to beat a Kirin with stronger power than normal alone?" Just then, the same stomping thud was heard, as Master appeared before them.

"By having faith in your comrade, young man..." He replied to Tenji.

It wasn't long after that Takuya made it to the foot of the mountain, strapped the boat in and set up base camp. The young hunter looked to the mountain, which had dark stormy clouds gathering above it, and gulped.

"This should be fun." He said with sarcasm. And carrying his heavy load of armour, he trekked up to the mountains.

_'The storm still raged through the mountains stronger as it did through the other villages. I could feel the Kirin's energy flow through the wind, pound with the thunderbolt and rage with the rain. The Kirin, however, was the least of my worries. What concerned me most was why Master chose me to kill this Kirin, it wasn't as if they were short on strong hunters. And why I had to go alone was an even bigger mystery. Before I had any more time to ponder on it, I was near the summit of the mountain, the place where the Kirin is most common.'_

Takuya, after many climbing and going through ice caverns, finally arrived at a small area of the mountain, shaded by the summit of the mountain, which provided an excellent cover from the rain and narrowed the wind's force. The young monster hunter kept his guard on very high alert. The Kirin was a very stealthy opponent, and may arrive at any time.

"Alright, Kirin...Show yourself..." He whispered, taking a step at a time, getting his feet comfortable to the snow. Then Takuya felt a strong presence, rolled forward and surprisingly dodged a thunderbolt. Then he saw it: an eight foot blue horse-shaped beast that bore a horn as long as a spear, fashioned a mane that gave it a solemn appearance, and it's eyes were a deep white: the Kirin of legend appeared before Takuya.

"What in the?" The first thing Takuya took note was it's size; most Kirin were human sized, yet this one towered over him. As a result, Takuya gripped his sword with all his strength not wanting to lose it in the fight. The Kirin was threatened by Takuya's sudden movement, and went on the war path and charged with all it's might for him, thunder raging all around it. Instinctively Takuya dodged with all his speed, but as he tried to cut the Kirin as it passed, the Kirin disappeared with a yellow flash.

"What? I never knew it could do that!" But before he could react, the Kirin already reappeared behind him and pierced a hole right through his shoulder. "Arrrghhhh!" Then surging all it's lightning into it's horn, it blasted Takuya directly on to the rocks of the mountain. If it weren't for Takuya's heavy armour, he would have been killed for certain, but his injuries paralyzed Takuya.

"Such raw power...It overpowered me without even trying!" He tried to pick up his sword, but the Kirin stomped its front leg on Takuya's wrist, forcing him to let the sword go. With ferocity, it sparked its horn in a threatening manner. "Go on then...kill me..." He panted. "I can't beat you...not now, not ever..." The beast raised it's horn, ready to deliver the final blow and ready to end Takuya's life.

Until, the completely unexpected happened. The storm clouds had ceased and were replaced with a really dark and evil shade of red, dying the Kirin's beautiful blue to the same red tint. The Kirin was ignorant of this sudden change, but Takuya looked up with all his strength to see a large boulder-like rock engulfed in flames, hurtle towards the two.

"Look out!" Takuya warned and used his remaining strength to push the Kirin away from the meteor's path, but the push wasn't strong enough and both parties were caught in the explosion of the impact. The blast was so strong that both were thrown back from one end of the battlefield to the other. Takuya weakly looked up despite his injuries to see that the Kirin was defeated and the weather that had now returned to normal had calmed down.

"Thank goodness...But...it's a shame...I would have...enjoyed the carves from him...hehehe..." And he fell unconscious. But as Takuya was out of commission, the Kirin glowed a dark red and emitted dark red energy. What this meant to Takuya was anybody's guess since he wasn't awake to bare witness to it.

A short time afterwards, the pain in Takuya's bones began to miraculously evaporate. It felt like his pains suffered from the Kirin's attack and the force of the strange meteor were like it never happened. Takuya suddenly sprung up to investigate. But his question was answered: right next to his sleeping self was none other than Eiko's Potion, it's contents were empty. Someone fed the potion to him...but who? And it wasn't long before that question was answered too: sitting next to him, in a cross-legged fashion was a girl. A girl that looked around Takuya's age and had the longest, silkiest white hair Takuya ever laid eyes on. She was beautiful.

"Wh-Who are you?" Asked Takuya.

"Ah! You're awake!" She cheered. "I'm Nikiri!"

Now even more questions are now plaguing Takuya's mind: who was this girl that he woke up next to? What was that huge meteor? And why did she decide to help him?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yay! More Monster Hunter! Hope you guys enjoyed this ^^ Feel free to comment with your feelings so far :)**


	3. A New Partner

**A New Partner**

Takuya awoke from his painful unconsciousness to find a strange girl with long white hair, beautiful eyes and looked to be about his age. The clothes this girl wore were a short white vest, really small shorts and no shoes, how she was surviving in this weather without suitable clothes was beyond him.

"Wh-Who are you?" Asked Takuya.

"Did I not tell you?" The girl replied. "I am Nikiri!"

"But where did you come from? This is a regular spot for monsters; Kirin, Tigrex, the occasional Kushala, you must have a reason for coming here." Nikiri pondered for a moment.

"I cannot remember..." Takuya sighed.

"Well, I'm very grateful, I was sure I was gonna die, but if you hadn't come along, I would have..." He went to his bag, pulled out a hot drink and gave it to Nikiri.

"What is this?" She asked.

"It's a hot drink, it helps ward off this cold." Takuya explained. Nikiri blinked in confusion.

"I am not cold." Takuya grunted in the same emotion as Nikiri.

"Why are you not cold?! Hunters with much heavier clothes often freeze to death up here! You've got..." He eye'd her up from her head, to her chest all the way down to her feet planked to the snow. "Nothing on!" Nikiri giggled.

"I appreciate your concern, but for some reason, I am not cold."

"Well, drink it anyway. I'll feel better knowing my saviour won't die of frost bite." Nikiri eyed the contents strangely, shrugged her shoulders and drank up. But she spat it out all over Takuya. "AHH! HOT!"

"What is in this stuff?! I thought I was going to choke!" She spat, trying to get rid of the taste.

"Well it is made from Hot peppers and Bitterbugs." Nikiri gulped in disgust and wailed.

"I ate a bug!" She screamed.

"No you didn't. You drank one of it's ingredients." Once he used the snow to cool his face down, he picked up his sword and seathed it in his scabbard. "Well, thanks again for your help. Catch yah later!" He decided to head back to the guild and report that the Kirin was defeated and won't cause any more trouble. During his trip down the mountain, he noticed Nikiri was following him. He decided to confront her. "Ummm, why are you following me?"

"Why not?" She said with a grin. Takuya hadn't met her for more than five minutes, and already she was annoying.

"Well, you need to head back to your village." Takuya explained. Again, Nikiri thought for a moment.

"I do not have a village." Takuya smacked his brow in awkwardness.

"Fine, I'll take you to my village. You can rest at the inn there if you like." Takuya offered. Then like a lost puppy, Nikiri followed Takuya all the way back to the boat stationed at the beach at the bottom of the mountain.

"Oooh, a boat!" Nikiri coo'd in wonder.

"Yeah, the storm still has the sea a little roughed up, so you might wanna hold on to something." After Takuya made his preparations, he set sail with Nikiri on board. During the whole trip, Nikiri was eye'ing Takuya's Longsword. "Something wrong?"

"Why do you have a sword?" She asked.

"Because I'm a Monster Hunter." He replied. "We get jobs to kill monsters that cause trouble in local areas and we get paid for it."

"Oooh! Is it fun?"

"It can be pretty enjoyable. As long as we don't get killed." Nikiri grew a cute smile on her face. But before she could explain this, the boat began to rock violently. "Whoa! What the?!"

From the waters rose a giant Plesioth, a water wyvern with a giant tail, sharp teeth and fins that resembled a wyvern's wings.

"A Plesioth?!" Takuya gasped.

"Is that a moster that you hunt?!" Nikiri asked past the raging waters.

"Yeah! And god, do I hate this one!" The Plesioth shot water from it's mouth that hit the hull of the boat and knocked Takuya off his feet. "Grarghh! Damn it...I'm still exhausted from that fight with the Kirin..." Then the Plesioth went for Nikiri, hoping to have her for lunch.

"It is going after me!" She screamed.

"Get out of the way!" He commanded. But all she could do was scream and brace herself. Takuya jumped up with all his strength in an attempt to save her. "I won't let you hurt her!"

Then, another shock came to Takuya, Nikiri glowed a bright blinding light that made Takuya recoil and cover his eyes. The shining light continued until finally it ended. After a few seconds, once Takuya got the glow out of his eyes, he seen Nikiri, still curled into a ball and expecting the Plesioth to eat her. And the Plesioth was nowhere to be seen.

"N-Nikiri..." Whispered Takuya in shock. The white-haired girl began to look up and see that the Plesioth was gone.

"It is gone?"

"Since when did you have a Flash Bomb with you?" Asked Takuya.

"A Flash...Bomb?"

"Yeah. How else could you do that blinding light?" Nikiri pondered for a few seconds, but shrugged.

"I guess I had it hidden." She lied, although inside, she knew she had no such thing...

Takuya and Nikiri arrived back to the guild harbor, which was pretty torn up after the storm, and after leaving the boat to the caretaker of the now destroyed harbor, the two headed for the guild hall. When the doors opened, everyone looked up to see their hero.

"Takuya!" Hyobe, Chikko, Tenji and Eiko gasped. Quickly, Master Kyoryo'oni came to him.

"Is the deed done?" He asked in a scruffed voice. To save time and save a really complicated story, Takuya summed it up in one word...

"Yes."

This sent the whole guild hall into a frenzy of cheers. Quickly, he was swept up into the crowd of pats-on-the-back and congratulations. Eventually, after getting through all the crowd, did Takuya come to his four friends.

"You shoulda waited half an hour, yah Bulldrome Dung, yeh!" Hyobe growled, punching Takuya in the arm.

"But you did well!" Said Chikko.

"Just be sure to take us with you next time." Said Tenji. Then, Eiko presented Takuya a large bag of 80,000 zeni.

"Your reward." She said happily. "But if you don't mind me asking...Who's the girl?" This question was now being asked by everyone in the guild as they all looked to Nikiri, who was still at the entrance.

"Ummm...hi..." She said sheepishly.

"This is Nikiri. She saved me when I was injured from the Kirin. If not for her, I would've died." This made the guild hall silent in awe. Finally, Master Kyoryo'oni smiled.

"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's raise a glass to Nikiri!" Everyone cheered and raised their beer glasses to her. She giggled to this.

"Aww, stop it, you are all embarrassing me." She said happily. Soon, Takuya, Chikko, Hyobe, Tenji and Nikiri got a table where Takuya explained his adventure in the mountains.

"It was the biggest most humongous Kirin I ever laid eyes on! It was bigger than a Gravios!" Explained Takuya.

"Whoa! No wonder the storm was that bad!" Said Chikko.

"How'd you beat it?" Asked Tenji.

"It wasn't easy. Not only was it big, but it was fast too. The big thing pierced my armour and stabbed me pretty hard.

"Ouch!" Hyobe growled. "How'd you get outta there?"

"Nah, I managed to attack it before it dealt the final blow though. I killed it before it killed me." Takuya decided to keep the meteor story under wraps until he made sense of it.

"And that is where I come in, right?" Said Nikiri.

"Yup, Nikiri found me and used Eiko's healing potion to bring me back to full health. I owe her big time!" The five continued drinking, laughing and having a good time, until they called it a night.

"Well, better head on home." Yawned Hyobe. "Hopefully me wife'll be a tiny bit angry."

"Yeah, better be off too." Said Takuya. "Gotta rest up to do more quests tomorrow."

"H-Hey, what do I do?" Asked Nikiri.

"Follow Tenji, he'll take you to the inn." Said Takuya as he took his leave. He wearily swayed to his home in the middle of the village, passing Chikko's father's blacksmithing shop and the local potions peddlers. Finally, he came to his room to lie down and finally be able to relax...that would normally be the case, but there was just one problem...

"What took you so long?!" Whined Nikiri as she was sprawled out on Takuya's bed.

"What the hell?! Nikiri?!" Takuya gasped. "How'd you know where I live?!"

"Tenji told me." She giggled.

"Then how did you get here so fast? And I thought you were going to the inn with Tenji!"

"I did not want to go to the Inn. So I thought I would come here." She said. Takuya sighed.

"I got no room. You'd have to sleep on the floor to-"

"Okay!" She hopped off the bed and onto the floor next to the bed. "Also, I want to ask you something. Something I could not ask the others..."

"What is it?"

"Can you train me to become a Monster Hunter like you?" This raised a surprised expression from Takuya.

"Y-You wanna become a Monster Hunter?!" He asked.

"Yes! If it is fun, then I wanna do it! So please train me to become as strong as you!" Nikiri looked serious, as opposed to her somewhat childish nature.

"I-I guess so..." Nikiri cheered and hugged Takuya.

"Thank you!" She screamed in joy.

"But in the morning, I'm still pretty tired after that fight with the Kirin." He sat down on his bed and began taking off his armour. eventually, after taking off his helmet, chestplate and gauntlets, Nikiri blinked. "What?"

"You look cuter without armour." She blushed. Takuya grunted in embarrassment as he took off his remaining armour leaving him in his underwear and light t-shirt.

"J-Just get some rest. We need all the energy for tomorrow..." He laid down on his bed and fell asleep, as soon Nikiri fell asleep too with little regard for the uncomfortable floor. But for Takuya, he was still lost as to who Nikiri was. Who was she? Where did she come from? Did she have any family that will worry about her? It was unhealthy to worry about all those questions so he put it to rest. Tomorrow, she will have to train Nikiri, so soon the answers will come to him...

* * *

><p><strong>FINALLY UPDATED! So any theories to who Nikiri is? :3 Poor Takuya wants to know xD<strong>

**I'll try and update more regularly, but no promises ^^U**


	4. Lets Start with the Basics

**Let's Start With the Basics**

Fire was all around Takuya as the burning town lay waste around him. Everywhere he turned, he seen his friends and allies littering the ground with their corpses. Before he could see to them a distant rumbling could be felt and Takuya met his ill-fate to the hands of a truly evil Elder Dragon...

Takuya awoke with a loud yelp, and took a few seconds to realise it was a dream, a rather horrible nightmare, but a dream nonetheless. When Takuya came to his senses, he could smell something coming from the kitchen and spotted his house guest wasn't sleeping on the floor anymore. So, to investigate, he ventured into the kitchen to see Nikiri cooking some Dragonmeat, wearing a long apron and a chef's toque.

"Good morning!" She said happily. "I made you some breakfast." Takuya smiled to this, took a seat and was presented a dish of Dragonmeat and Crimson Sea Brim. "These were all I could find." But when Takuya ate, he felt his strength regain.

"This is very good, Nikiri!" Takuya complimented. The young white haired girl giggled.

"Stop with the flattery." She said bashfully. Takuya finished and put on some light armour. "Why are you not wearing your big armour, Takuya?"

"I only wear that when going to fight powerful monsters. Today, I'm gonna teach you the basics."

"Basics?"

"Yeah. There's theory to Monster Hunting. First, we need to get you armour."

"Do you not have any for me?" Nikiri asked, looking around Takuya's armour box, but was stopped by Takuya.

"Not if you're a man." He said and led her out of his house.

"Where are we going?" Asked Nikiri.

"Chikko's father, the blacksmith." The two went into town and found a small old shop with the sign saying "Monster-Slaying Blacksmith" and inside they could hear the pounding of metal on metal. The two headed in to see Chikko herself, wearing a set of safety glasses a worn apron and gloves as she was making a small sword.

"Ahh, it is the girl from before." Said Nikiri. Chikko noticed the two.

"Hey, Takuya!" She beamed coming to the counter to greet them. . "Sorry, my dad's making me work at the blacksmith's today, so no quests for me."

"It's okay." Replied Takuya. "Is your dad around?"

"He's out getting supplies, while I tend to the customers. Is there anything you need?" Takuya pointed to Nikiri.

"We need to get this girl suited up." Chikko smiled.

"Great! You're teaching her Monster Hunting?"

"Yeah. We need to get her some armour."

"Well good first step. Not many of us can go Monster Hunting naked, unless you're the kind to do it with a challenge." Chikko led the two to the blacksmith's smithing room where a collection of armours and weapons were scattered across the walls with a small work table carrying many tools, such as hammers, files and gloves. In the direct centre of this room was a smithing anvil.

"You've redecorated." Laughed Takuya.

"Well, it was a few years since you came here looking for a good replacement for your trashed Basarios armour." Giggled Chikko. Nikiri, however, helped herself inside and was looking at the individual elements that made up the room.

"It is so big!" She gasped in wonder.

"Well, my dad may have the biggest shop in town, this place doesn't come close to the towns and city's blacksmiths." Chikko explained. "Now, onto business. Do you have any materials for me to work with, or do you wanna start off with a simple leather armour, good for warding off most low-rank monster attacks?" Nikiri thought for a moment.

"She just got here." Said Takuya. "Unless you carved something from the Kirin last night?" Nikiri had an apithiny and raced to the exit.

"I will be back soon. I found some Kirin parts this morning!" She headed off back to Takuya's place.

"Where did you find her?" Asked Chikko.

"Like I keep saying, she found me." Laughed Takuya. "I'd love to know where she came from, though. She speaks funny, and her look really isn't common."

"That's for sure." Chikko replied. "But she's likeable, nonetheless." Shortly, Nikiri returned with a sack over her shoulder.

"Is this enough?" She asked spilling out the contents making Takuya's eyes grow big: a mountain of Kirin hide, manes, horn pieces and thunder tails were scattered across the floor.

"Consider it done!" Chikko smiled.

With the help of Takuya, Chikko set off to putting together Nikiri's new armour made of Kirin parts. Chikko forged the metal with her father's teachings, while Takuya did as Chikko instructed, helping her with tasks that require more than one set of hands. The parts were mainly used as decorations, but the mane and hide were very sturdy and was very useful in creating a solid defence. Almost an hour and a half later, Nikiri was suited up with the perfect Kirin armour that fitted her well and made her look prettier than ever.

"It is perfect!" She cheered. "Let us go hunt monsters, Takuya!"

"But you're not ready yet." Said Takuya.

"Yup, still need a weapon." Chikko added.

"Weapon?" Pondered Nikiri.

"With your small stature, I recommend small blades. Dual swords are ideal for a great offence. But it's up to you." Nikiri looked around the shop. She eyed the extremely large hammers that would most likely flatten her than her foe. Most weapons looked like they were too heavy until she came to a particular weapon variety that made her smile.

"I choose this!" Nikiri announced lifting a light bow crafted from iron.

"Good choice." Said Takuya with a smile.

"Though it was lucky Kirin armour is good with swords and guns." Laughed Chikko.

In the end, once Nikiri was finished, Takuya paid Chikko a handsome 65000 zeni to conclude their business.

"So what now, Takuya?" Asked Nikiri.

"I guess it's time to go on a quest." This made Nikiri happy.

"Yay~!" She cheered. Both entered the guild that raised everyone's attention.

"It's that girl..." They whispered amongst each other.

"Hi!" She said, trying to ignore the obvious eyes on her. The two approached Eiko's desk.

"Hi, Eiko, Nikiri here wants to register to this guild." Takuya told her.

"Great!" She said happily. She handed Nikiri a small piece of paper. "Just fill this in, dear, and we'll get you on quests!" Nikiri filled out the forms, pondering on each question asked, from date of birth, to level of hunting experience. While she did this, Takuya was trying to find a good enough quest for him and her to embark upon. Eventually he found one that suited them. He ripped the note from the board and brought it to Eiko.

"Special Mushroom picking, eh?" She said. "I guess it's hard to get any more basic than that." Nikiri finished up and handed Eiko the slip. "So you're Nikiri, huh? Okay, just one more thing before you go." She took out a small stamp and placed it on Nikiri's forearm, stamping the crest of the quest guild on it, the symbol being an eagle in a curved pose.

"Oooh, pretty." She said admiring it.

"You're now an official guild member." Eiko announced, making the other guild members cheer happily. Just then, the familiar sound of the guild master approaching rung throughout the guild hall as Master Kyoryo'oni appeared behind Eiko.

"A new member, eh?" He growled through his gruff voice, approaching the scared Nikiri.

"Y-Yes I am..." She squeaked, raising a smile from the master as he bear-hugged the poor girl.

"Haha! Welcome to our guild, then!" He cried, both scaring and crushing Nikiri.

"Cannot...breathe..." She coughed, as the master released.

"Hope you get on well, little one." He smiled, patting her soft head and making off back to his room.

"Looks as though you have the master's blessing." Smiled Eiko.

"Well, lets head off." Smiled Takuya leading Nikiri to the docks as the guild members cheered at her departure, wishing her luck on her maiden quest. The two got on a boat and headed off to the jungle area, a great place to find the mushrooms needed.

"You have a guild mark, too, right Takuya?" Asked Nikiri. The young expert hunter took off his gauntlet and showed her the guild crest on his arm.

"Got it right." He smiled. This made Nikiri glad, knowing him and her were more alike now.

Soon they arrived at the beach of an extremely dense jungle, with lots of trees and was home to hundreds of monster species.

"Well, we're here..." Smiled Takuya, tying up the boat.

"Wow! It is huge!" Exclaimed Nikiri. "So, where do we find these mushrooms?" Takuya led Nikiri into the jungle to look for the requested mushrooms. Soon, the two found some in the dark undergrowth of a nearby tree.

"Ahh! Here we go!" Takuya said and picked five of them.

"Yay! We did it!" Cheered Nikiri.

"Not really. The requester asked for ten. We only have half."

"Rats!" Nikiri pouted and came up with an idea. "Can I look for the other five by myself?!" This made Takuya nervous.

"I dunno, the jungle's a pretty dangerous place."

"I will be fine! I have a bow, so I can defend myself!" Takuya thought for a moment.

"Alright, but look for the mushrooms in the tree'd areas and don't wander into any caves, you don't want any Khezu making meals of you." Nikiri cheered, hugged Takuya and ran off in a random direction. "What a girl...Well, better go deliver my five to the red box."

Nikiri searched for a good ten minutes for the mushrooms but to no avail.

"Oh~! Curses! How can I find mushrooms when i do not know where to look?!" Until she tripped on a loose tree root and landed her face directly in front of the mushrooms. "Hey! The Mushrooms!" She picked away until she had five and began running in another random direction back to Takuya. However, she was stunned to see a Velociprey in front of her; the creature didn't notice her, but Nikiri remained quiet. "M-Maybe if I sneak past it, it will take no heed for me?" But her own words made her shudder. "No! I am a Monster Hunter, and I will never back down from a challenge!" She unloaded her bow and fired an arrow at it, piercing the Velociprey's hide and killing it. "Wow, that was easier than I thought."

Meanwhile with Takuya, he managed to deliver his end of the mushrooms and decided to do some fishing. It was already fifteen minutes into the quest, which took most intermediate hunters five to complete.

"Maybe it wasn't a good idea to leave her alone like that..." But just then, he heard footsteps coming and jerked up immediately. "Nikiri?!" To his dismay and surprise, it wasn't Nikiri, but Tenji and Hyobe. They were geared up in their armour and just as stunned to find Takuya.

"Takuya?!" They both called.

"Hyobe, Tenji! What are you guys doing here?" He asked coming over to them.

"We can say the same fer you!" Said Hyobe.

"I'm training the new girl, Nikiri. She's out gathering mushrooms."

"Not a wise idea." Said Tenji. "Leaving a new hunter alone here is asking for trouble."

"It's fine, it's just a mushroom quest, she'll be lucky to find a stray Conga in this quest." Takuya replied.

"Not cool, man!" Said Hyobe. "We were on a quest to take down two Velocidrome in this area!" This made Takuya gasp. "And unless you aren't aware, Velocidromes do NOT like hunters, especially new ones."

"Then that means...Nikiri's in trouble!"

His words rung true as, without realising, Nikiri stepped into the Velocidrome's territory, singing a tune as she strolled through the jungle, killing Velociprey unlucky to spot Nikiri first, without a care in the world.

"I got the mushrooms! Now Taki will like me! I got the mushrooms! Now Taki will like me!" But as she sung her cute tune, in the bushes crept the two Velocidrome, enraged that Nikiri has trespassed.


	5. Danger in the Jungle

**Danger in the Jungle**

"Why the hell did I let her go off on her own?!" Takuya cursed to himself as he rushed to find Nikiri with the help of Tenji and Hyobe, running a few steps ahead of them.

"It was only natural!" Tenji said as they ran. "Most of these quests don't have any superior monsters, and are double-checked by the Monster Hunting HQ, but once in a while, one slips off the radar, particularly ones of low merit like mushroom hunts!"

"It's fishy if ye ask me!" Hyobe huffed as he ran despite his physique. "Rookie hunters like a wee quest like this wan, why'd the higher-ups let these wans slide?"

"That doesn't matter now!" Takuya said. "What's important is making sure Nikiri is safe!" They pressed on, heading for the zone where Velocidromes are most common: the cave covered with moss and shrubbery.

Their hunch was correct as Nikiri arrived there, lost and had no idea where she was.

"Hmmm...If only I had brought a map!" She sighed in frustration, but then quickly shot a Velociprey with her bow, which made a valiant dash for her. "And where do these beasts spawn from? The more I kill, the more come to avenge the fallen!"

But it was then that Nikiri heard the growl of a much more fearsome monster, which sent alarm bells ringing in her head. She turned to her right to see a monster that was identical to the Velociprey, but was twice as big and adorned a bright orange horn to distinguish its rank among its followers: one of the Velocidrome.

Nikiri, frozen in fear at this new monster, began to back away slowly, but the beast gave a loud howl as it charged at Nikiri.

"Back, beast!" She cried, reacting immediately and tried to fire an arrow at it, but the fear struck in her caused her to miss, and now the Velocidrome had pounced on top of her.

"Kyaaa!" She screamed as loud as she could. This was picked up by Takuya and his friends.

"It's Nikiri, she's in danger!" Takuya gasped as he charged with all his speed towards the source of the noise.

Nikiri was now trying to break free of the Velocidrome's grip while at the same time defending the mushrooms and dodging the monster's bites.

"R-Release me, you foul creature!" She cried, but the Velocidrome kept up the pressure, wanting to gnaw on Nikiri's face out of instinct. But then, the beast made its mark as one of its razor sharp fangs grazed Nikiri's shoulder badly; letting out a pain filled shriek, she began to get light headed from blood loss. The Velocidrome, now seeing the weakness in its prey, got off from Nikiri as it prepared to make a meal out of her.

"If I cannot…defeat…one monster…" Nikiri grimaced, sitting up, but to her horror, another Velocidrome came, briefly greeted the other Velocidrome with a few growls, and the two began approaching Nikiri, ready to feast on her tender flesh.

"N-No! Stay back!" Nikiri begged, backing away.

With the three hunters who were making their way through the dense jungle, they began to notice a storm was brewing, dark rain clouds formed overhead with rumbles of thunder being heard in the distance.

"A storm?!" Tenji pondered. "Impossible! The weather balloon stated there would be no storms for weeks to come!"

"It might be a monster's doin'!" Hyobe guessed. "Might be a Kushala! Where they are, storms follow!"

"Hang on, Nikiri! We're coming!" Takuya growled as they continued the charge.

Back with Nikiri, the Velocidromes kept up their advance, cornering her to the back of a wall, the young girl all but given up.

"I…I could not even complete a low rank mission…" Nikiri cried, unable to control her emotions. "I…cannot protect myself, even with weapons and armour…" She held her wounded shoulder, unable to contain the pain. "I'm nothing…I'm…"

The Velocidromes pounced for her.

"I'M USELESS!"

Suddenly, a strong bolt of lightning struck the battlefield, destroying everything around the area, the view was perfect with Takuya and his companions as they saw the bolt hit the small hill and was blasted back by the shockwave.

"Whoa!" Cried Tenji, being thrown back due to his light armour.

"The hell is happenin'?!" Hyobe cursed. But this didn't stop Takuya, as he continued to run to the struck hill. "Are you daft, Takuya?! What if it strikes again?!"

"Actually, it's known lightning doesn't strike twice in the same spot, Hyobe." Tenji explained. "If anything, we're in more danger by staying here." With those words, Hyobe jolted behind Takuya.

The three arrived in the smoldering ruins of the cave and what a sight they saw. Everything from the grass, moss and plants were burned to a crisp, the two Velocidrome were scattered far apart from each other, dead, their hide's blackened, and in the far corner, was an unconscious Nikiri, huddled against the wall, her armour and bow destroyed, leaving her completely naked for the world to see. Tenji, seeing Nikiri, blushed and turned away, Hyobe, was angling to see more, while Takuya rushed to her, using his standard clothes to cover a majority of her body.

"Nikiri! Nikiri!" Takuya called to her. "Please wake up, please say you're not dead!" Hyobe, now knowing Takuya wasn't going to give him a good look at Nikiri, began to look around for more clues to what happened, while Tenji, now sure Nikiri was safe to look at, noticed something.

"Hold on…" Tenji pointed out. "Why is it everything in a 50 foot radius is burned to a cinder, while Miss Nikiri is just fine?" Tenji pointed to her bare leg, which had no burns of any kind.

"That doesn't matter now!" Takuya ordered, trying to wake Nikiri, but no matter how hard he called her name or shook her, she wouldn't wake. "Sh-She's not breathing!"

"Try CPR, Takuya! The shock of the lightning must have stopped her heart!" Tenji suggested.

"R-Right…" Takuya gulped nervously, then began beating Nikiri's heart with his hands, trying to get a pulse. There was still no sign of her waking, so Takuya opened Nikiri's mouth and went in to give her the kiss of life. But before the kiss could be made, Nikiri awoke to see Takuya edging closer.

"Eeeeeek!" She screamed with a mighty blush. "T-Takuya is trying to kiss me!"

"N-Nikiri! You're alive!" Takuya sighed in relief.

"Th-That's not important! Why were you trying to k-kiss me?!" Nikiri stuttered in embarrassment. "A-And where's my armour?"

"Takuya was trying to save you by giving you CPR, Miss Nikiri." Explained Tenji, then moved beside Nikiri to see a smoldering pile of molten steel burned to the ground. "And I believe this is what's become of your armour."

"T-Takuya was…trying to save me…?" Asked Nikiri.

"Oi, guys!" Called Hyobe. "We got something new here!" Tenji went over immediately, while Takuya lifted Nikiri, trying not to touch her naked flesh while she held the only piece of clothing on her to cover herself as the two went over to what Hyobe found.

In the rock hallway leading to the next section of caves, there was the team of four Felynes that was tasked with saving hunters from death and bringing them back to base camp for a cut of the prize money. The team of Felynes were blown back from the force of the lightning bolt, they were unconscious but didn't suffer any burns.

"Poor things must have been near the blast radius." Tenji theorized. "Maybe that's why Miss. Nikiri didn't have any burns?" Just then, Nikiri's natural instincts kicked in, dashed over and hugged one of the unconscious cat-like creatures.

"Oh my gosh, they are so adorable!" Nikiri announced lovingly. "Can we keep one, Takuya?! Can we?!"

"Th-That can be discussed later!" Takuya said trying to calm her down. Just then, the Felynes began to awake.

"Ohh, my head…Nya…" One grunted.

"We got lucky, nya!" Another said. "If we arrived sooner, we'd have been cooked Felyne, nya!"

"You guys aw'rite?" Asked Hyobe.

"We're quite alright, hunter." Said the leader, who wore small blue armour to stand out from the others. "And who might you all be?"

"I'm Takuya." Spoke he. "These are my friends, Nikiri, Tenji and Hyobe."

"We're the Felyne Rescue Squad!" Said one of the Felynes and signalled to the leader of the pack. "This is our leader, Alpha!"

"Excuse me, private Delta! That is but my codename! If you humans wish to know my name, I am Alexandro DuCang the Fourth, nya! Leader of the Felyne Rescue Squad you see before you, nya!"

"I want to keep him!" Giggled Nikiri cutely.

"What happened here, Alpha?" Asked Takuya, using his more basic code name.

"We heard from the weather balloon that the newest hunter, Nikiri, was under attack by two Velocidrome, nya! So we headed to the area to save her if she needed saving, nya!" Alpha spoke. "When we were certain her life was in danger, the area was struck by lightning! I've never seen anything like it in my life, nya!"

"You poor things…" Said a saddened Nikiri.

"W-We are not creatures for pity!" Yelled the leader. "We are Felynes! Proud and strong!"

"Anythin' happen aftah that?" Asked Hyobe.

"No, we were knocked back from the force of the blast and we awoke to find you." Alpha continued.

"Aside from being blown back, we'll be fine, nya!" Said one of the other Felynes as it and the other two began repairs on the wheeled stretcher that was damaged from the blast.

"Well, the lightning did have one good outcome." Spoke Tenji. "It killed the two Velocidrome for us, and managed to save Nikiri from any harm."

"I think not, nya!" Bellowed Alpha and eyed Nikiri down. "You should take better care of yourself, rookie hunter, nya! If you couldn't even defeat a Velocidrome with good weapons and armour, you better give up now and save us the bother, nya!" Once the wheeled stretcher was repaired, Alpha and his companions raced off, back to wherever they came from.

"Felynes sure have an honest and stubborn attitude, eh?" Tenji commented. Takuya looked to Nikiri, only to see that she was gone from sight; looking around, he spotted Nikiri searching frantically for something at the spot where she was found.

"Nikiri? What's wrong?" Takuya asked, racing towards her.

"Th-The mushrooms! I-I had them with me! But…" Her words dropped when she came across the ashes of her item bag and inside was a pile of ashes that was the mushrooms she collected. Without rhyme or reason, Nikiri broke down, crying that the mushrooms she collected were gone.

"Wh-Whoa, Nikiri, calm down." Takuya said in pity for the girl.

"B-B-But I really had them!" Nikiri snivelled. "I-I-I h-had them a-and those m-mean bullies came a-and..." She resumed her sobbing.

"It's nothing to fret over, Miss. Nikiri." Said Tenji. "We can always look for more . Special Mushrooms are very common in this jungle, and with the four of us, we…" But as Tenji talked, Nikiri's sobbing died down, until a smile formed on her face.

"Tenji, you're a genius!" She cried, hugging the young boy, so his head was pressed against her chest.

"N-No problem, j-just being helpful…" Tenji muttered in embarrassment.

"Aye, wee Tenji's right, lass." Hyobe grinned. "Noo that mother nature's delt wae oor targets, we cin help oot with your wee mushroom quest!"

"Th-Thank you, everyone!" Nikiri smiled happily. After putting on Takuya's shirt, which was big enough to cover her, Nikiri and the others searched the neighbouring areas for more mushrooms and sure enough, there were plenty to be found. Soon, the four made it back to base camp with five more mushrooms.

"And one more makes ten." Said Takuya, putting an end to the mushroom hunting quest.

"Yay!" Nikiri cheered. "We completed our first quest, Takuya!"

"Might need to git ye some new armour tae!" Hyobe chuckled, making Nikiri blush as the three laughed merrily, now that they completed the two missions.

After the four had collected their reward and once night began to roll in, Takuya and Nikiri arrived back at their lodgings.

"Here you go." Takuya said, giving Nikiri some basic leather armour that could be worn by girls as well as men, along with this armour she was given a hunter's bow.

"Hmmm…My last armour that Chikko made me was much better!" Nikiri said bluntly.

"It might not be your taste, but it's the common clothes for rookies to wear." Takuya explained. This however made Nikiri pout, prompting Takuya to explain himself. "My methods up 'til now were kind of rushed, I was hoping you'd get good armour, a good weapon and be on your merry way. But I was wrong. If we're gonna make you a monster hunting pro, we're gonna take it from the start. We'll learn the basics first before we get onto missions, so that way you can protect yourself when you do fight monsters." Nikiri listened and nodded her head.

"Yes! I'll make you proud, Takuya!"


End file.
